Richter: At This Point It Is A Surprise

January 17, 1985|by GARY R. BLOCKUS, The Morning Call

Fred Richter pondered the question, then withouteven the slightest hesitation in his voice, began to answer.

"Yes, at this point it is a surprise," he said of his Quakertown girls basketball team. The Panthers are off to one of their best starts ever after polishing off Upper Perkiomen last Thursday by a 49-23 score.

The 11-0 Panthers (6-0 league) are facing their toughest tasks of the season this week. On Tuesday, once-beaten North Penn visited the Quakertown gym while Central Bucks West, with whom Quakertown is tied for first place in the Bux-Mont League, comes to town today.

It's truly an occasion for the best to bring out their best this week.

"I thought we'd be a good team, I was just not sure how good a team we could be," Richter explained of the fantastic start. "Our inside game has given us a lot more than I thought it might," he observed.

The inside game is led by a pair of scrappy juniors. Forward Angie Cygan, the 11th and last in a long line of Cygan's, and center Sherry Thompson have been totally dominating the inside thus far.

"They're both very aggressive," Richter noted of the 5-foot-10 standouts. "They're both very good rebounders and both can score."

"Angie's had a little more opportunity to score, and she's taken advantage of it." Cygan is the team's second leading scorer with 85 points heading into the North Penn contest. She is also the team's leading rebounder, pulling in a little over nine a game.

Thompson is a tremendous competitor who is feared as much as Patrick Ewing when it comes to shot blocking. Opponents think twice before putting the ball up against Thompson, who is averaging four blocks a game.

Senior Vicki Delikat is the team's other starting forward, while Wendy Novak, a 5-8 senior, comes off the bench to lend a hand. Novak had a season- high 20 points coming off the pines in a 61-45 win over Quakertown last week.

Audrey Afflerbach, a 5-8 senior, is at the point, while backcourt mate Traci Edinger, a 5-8 junior, is the team's top offensive threat.

Edinger has had two 17-point games thus far while leading the squad with 141 points. One came in a stunning 43-33 win over highly-touted Allentown Central Catholic, while the other came in a 49-23 win over Bux-Mont League rival Upper Perkiomen.

"Audrey's been doing a pretty good job and has had some good scoring games for us," Richter was quick to point out.

Basically, the Panthers offense is dictated by their defense. Richter likes using the full-court press for almost the entire game, mostly off a 2-3 matchup.

"A lot of our offense is off the press we run," the 34-year-old coach pointed out. "That is why Traci Edinger scores as well as she does. She leads the team in steals with about four a game, and Cygan is right behind her with three."

"All the girls do their job on it. That's why it's so effective," he maintained. "I've just been pleased with everybody's play."

The game plan on defense has held up for most of the 11 wins. "We've played mostly as a 2-3 matchup team," Richter said. "We've played man-to-man just to give the other teams a different look so they don't set for the shots they usually get."

Does all the running of a full-court press take its toll on the team?

"It wears the other team down," Richter explained. "They don't like the pressure, plus I've got seven or eight girls who can play so I'm not in much of a problem for substitutes."

Dawn Brader, a 5-5 senior, comes off the bench to play guard, while Becky Eichlin, a 5-7 junior forward, is the other girl off the bench. Of the top eight girls, Eichlin is the only non-letterwinner froma year ago.

The Panthers are aiming to improve on their 17-6 finish from last year when they ended as the third best team in the Bux-Mont League.